As technological breakthroughs continue to transform economies throughout the world, the future of employment is rapidly evolving. Humanoid robots like Digit by Agility Robotics are set to transform the workforce. While these robots have the ability to free humans from tedious and boring work, they also constitute a potential threat to human employment. 

Digit is a humanoid robot created by Agility Robotics. The robot was created  to move in a more dynamic fashion than normal robots do. According to the feature video on their website, they’ve been developing prototypes since 2012. Digit has nimble limbs and a torso filled with sensors that will enable it to navigate complex environments and complete assignments like package delivery. 

Agility Robotics Contends that Digit is a robot that is “ready for work” and that it is a “safe and friendly robot partner to the workforce.” Their mission is to “enable humans to be more human” as robots take over more monotonous… robotic tasks that would otherwise take up our time. 

The commercial development of ready-to-work robots may pose concerns for the employment of humans in the global workforce. While it would free humans from mundane and robotic work, a significant amount of humans across America and abroad are employed by companies who assign them robotic and mundane tasks.  

 In 2021 there were estimated to be approximately 866.3 million people employed worldwide in agriculture, compared with 1.64 billion people in services, and 753 million people in industry. 

It is a reasonable estimation that, within 25 years, sophisticated robots in combination with Next-Gen Artificial Intelligence applications can potentially replace all humans in the workforce. 

In the event of the development of a robot that can do everything a human can do without the need for a benefits package or PTO, it seems like an extremely easy decision for any company whose sole purpose is to increase their profit. 

There’s a saying in the professional world: “It’s nothing personal.” But this time, it is.

If the entire world’s entry-level labor force is no longer needed, it will be interesting to see what type of solutions – jobs or systems of monetization – will develop around this situation.

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